My Letter to Ed of "Motorcycle Classics"
Posted 24th December 2008 at 10:04 by Sporting Lad
Updated 26th December 2008 at 05:11 by Sporting Lad
Updated 26th December 2008 at 05:11 by Sporting Lad
Here is my response to Clement Salvadori's article in "Motorcycle Classics" about his ride along the California coast on a borrowed Vincent Rapide touring model in which he dissed
Bronson's Sportster.
This is my letter to those bloody Anglophiles:
(Your Vincent vs. a Sportster)
Dear Ed.
I was reading a pretty good article by C. Salvadori about riding Big Sur in
your March/April issue when I came upon the inflammatory statement,
"The (Vincent) Rapide would have eaten Bronson's Sportster for a mid-morning
snack."
Well, let's see-- the "Bronson" bike looks like a 1969 XLCH which, the story
goes, would have been modified considerably by it's previous owner, so we
could speculate that the outcome of any fictional contest between the two
would be equivocal --a coin toss.
I've always admired Vincents (In their day they really were quite astounding) but I find this 'British is Best' snobbery, especially as
pertains to Vincents' legendary performance, a bit tiresome. Should Mr.
Salvadori wish to back up his claim of the marque's superiority, we've got
a Sportster up here that is eager to meet your Vincent bagger at the venue
of his choice, be it drag strip or road course. Then we'll see who eats whom for a snack. Otherwise, don't make facile statements you can't substantiate.
Cheerio,
Tom Hocking
Vancouver Island
p.s. Clem, pay no attention to that 150 mph speedometer. It was just
marketing hype!
Bronson's Sportster.
This is my letter to those bloody Anglophiles:
(Your Vincent vs. a Sportster)
Dear Ed.
I was reading a pretty good article by C. Salvadori about riding Big Sur in
your March/April issue when I came upon the inflammatory statement,
"The (Vincent) Rapide would have eaten Bronson's Sportster for a mid-morning
snack."
Well, let's see-- the "Bronson" bike looks like a 1969 XLCH which, the story
goes, would have been modified considerably by it's previous owner, so we
could speculate that the outcome of any fictional contest between the two
would be equivocal --a coin toss.
I've always admired Vincents (In their day they really were quite astounding) but I find this 'British is Best' snobbery, especially as
pertains to Vincents' legendary performance, a bit tiresome. Should Mr.
Salvadori wish to back up his claim of the marque's superiority, we've got
a Sportster up here that is eager to meet your Vincent bagger at the venue
of his choice, be it drag strip or road course. Then we'll see who eats whom for a snack. Otherwise, don't make facile statements you can't substantiate.
Cheerio,
Tom Hocking
Vancouver Island
p.s. Clem, pay no attention to that 150 mph speedometer. It was just
marketing hype!
Total Comments 1
Comments
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Nice letter, Tom!
am enjoying your blog posts, btw.
I like the headlight lowering mod. Looks good, at least in that one front shot.
Posted 16th January 2009 at 14:23 by emzdogz 
